Since graduating from the Royal College of Music in 1972 at the age of 18, Richard Harvey has been a ubiquitous and diverse presence on the London music scene, not only as a prolific composer and conductor but an exceptional virtuoso performer of almost 700 instruments from around the world - blown, plucked, keyed, bowed, beaten and programmed.

Richard's early forays into the professional world involved performing medieval and Renaissance-era instruments with early music ensemble Musica Reservata, and his own progressive rock and folk band Gryphon. Since then he has recorded for and collaborated with major contemporary composers including John Williams, Stanley Myers, Harry Gregson-Williams, Sir Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, and numerous others.

Since working with celebrated film composer Maurice Jarre in the mid 1970s, Richard has scored over 70 television and film projects, from countless British television series, documentaries and feature length TV films, to major Hollywood titles, contributing to Hans Zimmer's score for the huge box office hit 'The Da Vinci Code' (2006). He is also an important presence in the Thai film industry, composing for epic 'The Legend of King Naresuan' (Part I, 2006, and Part II, 2007), and was honoured with a Royal Invitation to score for the major and historic movie 'Suriyothai', premiered in August 2001 in Bangkok.

Setting scenes, creating atmosphere, pacing action and defining character, Richard has added an extra dimension to the visual medium. His talent as a composer of film and television music has been recognised with a British Academy Award and three Ivor Novello nominations. His score to Borough Films' controversial and International Emmy award winning 'Death of a President' won the International Critic's Award at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival and was nominated under 'Best Score for a Documentary Film or Television Program' at the 2007 Film and TV Music Awards.

In addition, Richard's skills as a multi-instrumentalist continue to be called upon for both live performances and feature films, including Disney's 'The Lion King' (1994), 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' (2004), 'Kingdom of Heaven' (2005), and most recently, 'The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian' (2008).

Richard has also made several classical albums, including a Classical Record of the Year, 'Italian Recorder Concertos' (1982), which remains in Gramophone Magazine's Top 100. Furthermore he was commissioned to write 'Concerto Antico' (1995) for classical guitar virtuoso John Williams, which has been recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and released by Sony, enjoying subsequent worldwide live performances.

As a further display of musical eclecticism, together with artist and writer Ralph Steadman, Richard was commissioned to compose and conduct a major Cathedral piece for the 1989 Exeter Music Festival. The result was the hugely ambitious eco-oratorio 'Plague and the Moonflower', which has now been performed and experienced as a seminal work and profound statement in numerous English Cathedrals and music festivals as far flung as Australia.